Assassins Creed Brotherhood review

To me it seems as if Assassins Creed Brotherhood is like a massive add-on to AC2, Assassin’s Creed 2.5 if you may but don’t get this statement wrong as ACB contains a lot missions which can take you up to 30 hours of gameplay if you decide to complete all side missions, get all the collectibles and power through the main story. With its amazingly detailed city of Rome the player is free to roam around to their hearts content, you also get to visit areas outside of Rome by accepting missions from Leonardo Da Vinci and destroying the weapons he was forced to make. There seems to be a lot going on this time in terms of content, however what probably attracted most would have to be the multiplayer.Story
Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood carries on the story of the fictional war between the Assassins and Templars; as the game continues from where Assassin’s Creed 2 ended, it is recommended that AC2 is completed first before jumping into Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood to uncover more conspiracies within its story. New characters are however introduced into the game world; Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia whom we see in an early part of ACB.

Ezio visits Leo's workshop.

Gameplay
The single player combat system has improved by adding a small yet useful move. Basically if Ezio executes an enemy he then instantly moves on to the next one for another instant kill and from there makes a chain of one hit kills. Another feature in ACB is the ability to recruit assassins into the guild. These assassins are trained by Ezio, sending them on missions or signalling them to come help you out in a fight when you’ve realised that you’ve bitten off more than you can chew.

The counter kill is demonstrated here.

There are various kinds of tasks set for Ezio to complete in Rome such as lair platforming to retrieve an item and guild challenges. The economy has also changed and is handled a little differently, this time Ezio must eliminate the Borgia influence in a locale by burning down towers in order to buy shops or landmarks around it.

Virtual Training is where the player can master the combat system and improve on their free running skills. This is done through a set of tutorials in which the player can also compete with their friends for the best time or highest score.

Online Gameplay
ACB’s multiplayer is something new that gamers this generation have not yet experienced. It resembles a playground activity called hide and seek. A popular game among children but with the twist of being discreet and assassinating each other in ACB.

Multiplayer games.

There are other multiplayer modes to choose from such as Manhunt where two teams of four are placed in a map, one team is hunting the other team, and the other team uses the map’s set hiding places to avoid the hunters. This game can have you playing for hours, rewarding you with handy perks for you to use against your opponents by levelling up. However what was missing in the multiplayer mode is the combat which is implemented in the single player part of the game. Multiplayer had a simple ‘find and execute’ idea that doesn’t make space for combat.

Graphics
As I had mentioned above, the city of Rome was very detailed. Additionally, with its free roam capabilities, it is able to load the environment and keep up with the player wherever he goes. This is great because when it comes to a game such as ACB which keeps you on the move, you would want to have the background keeping up with you and not show incomplete or half loaded models and textures.

Incredibly detailed environment for you to run around in.

The high quality textures are what really what give the city and environment life, from castle walls to the roof tops, even famous landmarks such as the Colosseum, you can tell everything was re imagined greatly to define the city of Rome. Furthermore, the 3D models also contribute to the graphics of the game. By making buildings climbable according to its detail, it generates realism to the player. The game’s architecture when it comes to landmarks and buildings is what this game can show off as the player can free climb them, giving a lot of choice.

Final Verdict
With the story not being as riveting as the previous Assassin’s Creeds it does however improve towards its climax (no spoilers). Also by having two stories being told at the same time (Ezio’s and Desmond’s), it gives an intriguing sense to the player. Glitches are however present here and there like the boundary glitch where Ezio suddenly de-syncs as if you have crossed an area you aren’t supposed to be in yet with no warning at all, however this can easily be fixed by simply moving on with the storyline. Finally Assassins Creed Brotherhood is a game that is simply too good to ignore, with its detailed visuals, fluid animations and smooth game mechanics it definitely deserves its recognition as a full sequel rather than being labelled as ‘Assassin’s Creed 2.5’.